TWO OF A KIND The picture of the MAGA-linked candidate Gabrielle Hanson was soon followed by a “conversation” with avowed neo-Nazi Sean Kauffmann and a proactive Hanson supporter. A far-right conspiracy theorist vying to be mayor of Franklin, Tennessee was pictured grinning next to an avowed neo-Nazi in a photo shared on the social media app Telegram on Wednesday. Gabrielle Hanson, an alderman for the city, has weathered near-constant controversy along the campaign trail, and has most recently drawn criticism for her ties to the Tennessee Active Club, which was labeled “a part of a national network of white power hate groups” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. (After the SPLC published a report on the group in June, one member reportedly took to Telegram to proclaim: “I’m not a cuckservative, I’m an actual literal Nazi.”) Last week, after about a dozen members of the club accompanied Hanson to a mayoral forum, saying they were there to make “sure everything goes well,” she defended their attendance. (…) Sean Kauffmann, the Tennessee Active Club’s leader, was one of the members present at the forum. The photo shared Wednesday, first reported by Nashville’s NewsChannel 5, shows Hanson and Kauffman sitting side by side. He appears to be wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the phrase “Reject Poison, Embrace Struggle,” a slogan commonly associated with the white nationalist group Patriot Front. The image was shared on Telegram by the right-wing network Appalachian Archives. “Stay Tuned,” the network teased alongside the picture. Several hours later, a 20-minute interview clip was posted to the channel. Despite the Archives labeling it a conversation between Kauffmann and Hanson, however, the neo-Nazi was interviewed not by the candidate, but by another woman who identified herself as Valerie Baldes, a proactive Hanson supporter.
via daily beast: Wannabe Tennessee Mayor Smiles With Neo-Nazi in Photo on Social Media